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'Balloon Boy' (2009; Colorado: Runaway Balloon; Hoax?)

US balloon mother 'admits hoax'

The mother of a boy thought to have been swept away in a giant helium balloon has admitted the incident was a hoax, according to court documents.

Mayumi Heene apparently told officials she and her husband "knew all along" her son, aged six, was hiding at home.

The papers, which were made public in the United States, also suggest the parents had told their children to lie.

According to the affidavit, Mrs Heene said the plan was to make the Colorado family more marketable to the media.

Six-year-old Falcon's apparent disappearance prompted a major rescue operation as the silver balloon soared through the sky.

...

The court document says the parents devised the hoax about two weeks earlier.

"She [Mrs Heene] and her husband had instructed their three children to lie to authorities as well as the media regarding this hoax," it continues.

The father, Richard Heene, continues to deny that the balloon emergency was faked.

His lawyer David Lane said he was waiting to see evidence in the case, adding: "allegations are cheap."

The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani, in Los Angeles, says it is believed that the Heene family - who had already twice appeared in reality TV shows - constructed the elaborate ruse because they were keen on another bid at stardom.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden has said he will recommend charges including conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and making a false report to authorities.

Some of the most serious charges each carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $500,000 (£305,000) fine.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8323590.stm

If nothing else, this could end in divorce and the kids taken into care... :(
 
'Guilty plea' in balloon boy case

The US parents who triggered a major alert by claiming their six-year-old son was adrift in a helium balloon are to admit charges, their lawyer says.

Falcon Heene's mother is to admit false reporting to authorities and his father will admit attempting to influence a public servant.

Falcon's disappearance became a media drama but he was later found at home.

Police accused the family of masterminding the 15 October incident as part of a publicity bid.

The couple, who have three children, will enter their pleas at Larimer County Court on Friday, a statement from their lawyer says.

The incident in Colorado led to a media storm.

The couple reported that their young son had been carried away by a helium balloon - whose progress was then tracked by news organisations.

Police carried out an intensive search for the boy after the balloon landed about 64km (40 miles) north of Denver and was found to be empty.

But it then transpired that the child was hiding at home and days later the couple were accused of an elaborate hoax.

According to a statement from lawyer David Lane, Mayumi Heene, 45, will admit a misdemeanour and her husband Richard, 48, a felony.

Mr Lane said Mr Heene agreed to "fall on his sword" by admitting the felony charge to prevent his wife - a Japanese national - being ordered out of the US.

The stipulated sentences for both are probation, his statement said, with the possibility of up to 60 days in jail for Mrs Heene and up to 90 days for Mr Heene.

Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden had earlier suggested that the couple could have faced charges of conspiracy and contributing to the delinquency of a minor - which carry jail terms of up to six years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8357202.stm
 
Balloon boy's family facing $42,000 bill for hoax
The Colorado couple responsible for the "balloon boy" hoax which captivated audiences around the world are facing a $42,000 bill for the stunt.
Published: 7:00AM GMT 23 Dec 2009

Lawyer David Lane said Richard Heene and his wife Mayumi had been ordered to pay the amount in restitution for the air and land rescue effort triggered by their false report that their six-year-old son Falcon had floated away in a home-made balloon.

The October 15 incident became one of the most notorious hoaxes in US history, gripping millions of viewers as television networks broadcast live coverage of the "runaway balloon" feared to have the child on board.

Authorities later said the incident was a hoax cooked up by the Heenes in a bid to land the family their own reality television show.

Richard Heene, 48, and Mayumi Heene, 45, face a sentencing hearing in Colorado on Wednesday after entering guilty pleas to various charges.

Richard Heene has pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempting to influence a public servant while Mayumi, a Japanese national, admitted a misdemeanor offense of false reporting to authorities.

Although the charges are punishable by jail terms, the couple is expected to receive probation.

Mr Lane meanwhile confirmed that he had received an e-mail from the Larimer County District Attorney's Office demanding repayment for the rescue operation. However he said the Heenes were not in a position to pay the bill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -hoax.html
 
'Balloon boy' couple jailed
The couple who carried out the infamous "balloon boy" hoax, Richard and Mayumi Heene, were jailed.
By Nick Allen in Los Angeles
Published: 6:22PM GMT 23 Dec 2009

Heene, 48, choked back tears and apologised as he was sentenced to three months while his wife was told she will spend 20 days behind bars.

"I want to reiterate that I'm very, very sorry," Heene told a court in Fort Collins, Colorado. "I want to apologise to all the rescue workers out there and the people that got involved in the community."

The Heenes concocted the elaborate hoax in October in an attempt to secure their own reality television show, claiming their six-year-old son Falcon had accidentally been whisked away in an experimental helium balloon.

Millions of people were captivated as pictures of the saucer-shaped balloon floating over the skies of Colorado, apparently with Falcon on board, were beamed around the world. The boy was later found hiding in his parents' home.

Judge Stephen Schapanski sentenced Heene to a total of 90 days. For 60 of those the building contractor will be allowed out to work in the day.

The judge said: "This case is about deception and exploitation – exploitation of the Heenes' children, exploitation of the media, exploitation of the feelings of people. And it was all about money, making money."

The Heenes were also sentenced to four years probation during which they will be banned from making any profit from the hoax.

Heene had pled guilty to a charge of attempting to influence a public servant. His wife had admitted a charge of false reporting.

Police and prosecutors have ordered them to pay a $50,000 (£30,000) bill for the search and rescue operation but the Heenes claim they cannot pay.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... ailed.html
 
I wonder what'll happen to the lad, it's certainly a wonderful time of year to end up in foster care or a children's home :( Or maybe rellys if he's lucky.
 
Judge Stephen Schapanski sentenced Heene to a total of 90 days. For 60 of those the building contractor will be allowed out to work in the day.
Click to expand...
So he's got 30 days really, whilst he earns, then he makes a massive profit out of it in 4 years. Hmmmm. Small price to pay! :evil:
 
coaly said:
Judge Stephen Schapanski sentenced Heene to a total of 90 days. For 60 of those the building contractor will be allowed out to work in the day.
Click to expand...
So he's got 30 days really, whilst he earns, then he makes a massive profit out of it in 4 years. Hmmmm. Small price to pay! :evil:
Click to expand...

Part of their sentence is that they are prohibited from profiting of the event.
 
For 4 years. After that they can profit from it all they want, if the option is still there for them.
 
Hence me saying, "hen he makes a massive profit out of it in 4 years. Hmmmm. " Mr Blaire. :roll:
 
I can't see there will be a massive profit in 4 years time. Who's going to care by then?

I also can't see what possible public interest is served by jailing the parents. Much better to make them pay money back towards the emergency services expenses surely?
 
They'll make him do both. Perhaps that's where allowing him to work comes in. Of course there'll be big bucks in it for them. A book, media rights, magazines etc. There's more to it than just the balloon.
 
Wasn't there a possibility that his wife could be deported if she was found guilty of a criminal offence?

Or did I imagine that (I'm getting older now, you know)?
 
As recently as 2014, the Heenes were claiming this wasn't a hoax. And I think that might be true- but possibly not in the sense that might be expected.

This is the raw footage released by the Heenes, apparently to the media, with the intention of helping their case once the 'hoax' was uncovered.


Many of the Youtube commenters appear to make fun of Richard Heene supposedly shouting for 'Spiderman' at the end of the footage. Except: the word I actually hear him say is "Mayumi" (the name of his Japanese-born wife).

Note that part-way through the video, Heene shouts "Brad, cut!". So, the person operating the camera is Bradford. Ryo is the little brother running towards the camera. (And the missing son is Falcon. The boy who isn't in the balloon. And probably not hiding in the attic either)

My strong impression is that the person using the camera is a tall adult, not 'Brad'. The vantage point from which the camera is being used is significantly-higher than it should be for a brother just two weatherboards taller than his sibling
article-2563546-1BA8F1BF00000578-952_634x420.jpg

L/R Brad (the supposed cameraman , Falcon (the supposed non-flyer) , Ryo (the 'runner')

The vantage-point differential between the two eyelines (even allowing for the decking) is too much....this is filmed by an adult:
2016-03-19 11.04.10.png


The annotations above emphasise the fact that the (silent, tall, supposedly 'Brad') person is not a short fellow-brother.

So my proposition is as follows:

- the entire thing was a reality tv show escapade gone wrong (the Heene couple had been on Wife-swap tv shows before, and he'd tried to sell all sorts of wild programme ideas to studios in the past)

- this was effectively just falsified 'factual' fly-on-the-wall US TV bullshit, in a plausible deniability fashion, like an episode of 'The Osbornes'

- the key point being the entire incident looks to me as if it's been a co-operative collusion (note that the son Falcon said on live tv that "he thought they were doing it all for the show"). What show was that?? That would be the unaired/binned/unadmitted mise-en-scène reality TV show that's not mentioned.
 
Update ...

As of October 2019 - some 10 years after the incident - the parents still maintain it wasn't a hoax, and Falcon Heene says he doesn't remember what happened.
10 years later, 'balloon boy' and his family still denounce idea that it was a hoax

It's been 10 years since police called the search for the infamous balloon boy a hoax, but even now, the boy -- now a teenager -- and his parents are standing by their story.

Richard Heene maintains to this day that he, his wife, Mayumi, and their three sons were working on a saucer in the backyard of their Colorado home, with video cameras rolling, when the homemade device got loose and they feared their 6-year-old son Falcon was inside it. ...

Police, however, had doubts and thought it was a publicity stunt. When the saucer finally came down, it turned out the boy was not on board. Instead, he had apparently been hiding in the attic at home. ...

The father told ABC News he believes he was a victim of character assassination and was still fired up at any suggestion the scare was a hoax. ...
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FULL STORY: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/10-years-balloon-boy-family-denounce-idea-saucer/story?id=66604256
 
A final update for closure(?) ...
Parents convicted in 2009 ‘balloon boy’ hoax pardoned

A couple convicted of criminal charges in the so-called balloon boy hoax that fascinated the country more than a decade ago were pardoned Wednesday by the governor of Colorado.

Richard and Mayumi Heene reported their 6-year-old son had floated away in an homemade UFO-shaped silver helium balloon in 2009.

... Authorities said the Heenes staged the ordeal to get publicity for reality TV shows they were trying to pitch. ...

Eleven years later, couple has now “paid the price in the eyes of the public” and shouldn’t have to be dragged down by a criminal record for the rest of their lives, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday.

Richard Heene served a month in jail after pleading guilty to a felony count of attempting to influence a public servant, and Mayumi Heene was jailed for 20 days for filing a false report. They were also ordered to pay $36,000 in restitution. ...
Click to expand...

FULL STORY: https://apnews.com/article/us-news-colorado-denver-fa2071fb9e5a32a668654919bc729eda
 
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I'm surprised anyone ever believed the kid was in the balloon.

A balloon has a known lifting capacity which is determined by its volume and weight, and designed in accordance with its intended purpose. The child has a known weight. Looking at the size of the balloon, it looks like the weight of the child would be more than the lifting capacity of the balloon.

The balloon is full of helium. A kid would not be able to breathe inside it, and would suffocate.

The balloon is not designed for carrying a person, so there would be no suitable access, or place for the child to sit/stand. A balloon is typically made of the lightest materials available, commensurate with the stresses it is likely to encounter in normal use. It would need a strong floor or reinforced patch capable of bearing his weight.

And even if there was some way of him getting in, it would not be designed to be zipped up from the inside, even if we suppose the kid to be clever enough to unzip it and climb in.
 
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